Artifical Sweeteners And Atrial Fibrilation

[gordie1]

Hi there I have AF and I am on bisoporol and aspirin for it but this afternoon Ive gone into and out of it and the only thing different I have done is had toast and jam this morning diabetic jam containing sorbitol and jam on pancakes this afternoon I was wondering whether artificial sweeteners can trigger AF?

[Sqad]

gordie...there is evidence, scientific evidence that artificial sweeteners, particularly aspartame can in certain susceptible individuals, can trigger an onset of atrial fibrillation.

[LazyGun]

There is a hypothesised link between one type of sweetener, aspartame, and cardiac arrhythmia.

Some information can be found at the link below;
http://www.livestrong...ame-heart-arrhythmia/

BUT - pay particular attention to the SAFETY section of the article, where it says that "It was revealed that in most cases, no health issues were noted related to aspartame use at doses up to 4,000mg per kg of body weight per day. A 150-lb. person would need to consume 272g of aspartame per day to achieve some of the doses measured in the study."

And that would be consuming kilogrammes of jam today. So, to answer your question - no, I do not think artificial sweeteners contributed to your episode of AF.

[Sqad]

LazyGun

"It was revealed that in most cases, no health issues were noted related to aspartame use at doses up to 4,000mg per kg of body weight per day.

In "MOST" cases............not ALL.

gordie has had long standing AF well controlled and is on betablockers.
Today, he noticed a bout of what he describes as AF for the well observed application of aspartame..............coincidence? and he describes the episode of " Ive gone into and out of it"

Suspicious....very suspicious.

[gordie1]

I got into for about 30 minutes then out of it for about an hour and then back into it for half an hour. AF is not a serious issue for the heart I have been told but it is a high risk for a stroke so I am on aspirin but due to go on to warfarin after I have had a colonoscopy in about 3 weeks time

[LazyGun]

Agreed Sqad, and you know gordies history better than I. but - coincidences do happen,more often that people think :)

The literature, sparse as it is,suggests there may be an ill-defined link with aspartame - Do we even know if aspartame was the sweetener here?

Added to that- the suggested mechanism hypothesised (not proven) by which aspartame might trigger a cardiac arrythmia is interference in the magnesium pathway. All sounds far too nebulous and unproven to me :)

Once again, I know little of gordies history, and one should also stress that no one is entirely sure what triggers an event in the first place, but I would have thought other associations far more likely to be the cause than aspartame. especially given the likely quantity ingested.

I dont suppose it will do any harm to stop using it, but that then raises the problem of finding a suitable alternative without challenging the maintenance regimen for the underlying diabetes ( I am assuming that is why gordie is using diabetic jam)

[Sqad]

Lazygun...you arguments are modern, faultless and well presented.

Mine are "old school"..........."listen to the patient and he/she will give you the diagnosis."

Maybe i need to come into the modern era of medicine.